VICTORIA’S POV
‘The relationship we shared before?’
The words rolled out of his lips, making me stiff all of a sudden. I had forgotten about this topic for a few minutes while he was acting normal and friendly. But when he brought it up, I was jolted back into reality.
Pursing my lips, I looked down my lap before looking up at him with a little smile plastered on my face.
I nodded at him. “Yeah, he does know. Not from before, though.”
I leaned against the sofa, playing with my fingers. “My relationship with Alessandro starts with no future, but things suddenly changed, and we became closer. In all these, I never really got to share this topic. But, as I was thinking about bringing this topic up, you appeared.”
I spoke truthfully without feeling the need to hide anything. There was no reason to anymore, given Alessandro and I already overcame many misunderstandings. I wanted to move forward without any more secrets or lies.
Dominic nodded his head.
“Did he react differently, or...?”
I understand what he meant, or at least I assume he might feel bad. I am not sure, and perhaps he is concerned about his brother.
However, I didn’t lie this time either. “Well, he did not react like a child, that’s for sure. We talked, and everything is solved now.”
I lied at the part of ‘talk.’ Of course, we did not talk at all!
Suddenly, we both fell into silence until Dominic decided to break it.
“So... How many months is your baby?” His eyes traveled down to my baby bump.
I looked down with a smile and caressed the bump carefully, “6 months going on.”
“Though I know it’s him, again, “Andro is the father, right?” He asked again, and I stiffened at his question for a second.
Well, not at his question but the tone in which it was delivered. It seemed a little different, and I don’t know why.
I looked up at Dominic, only to find him smiling, looking at me. I blinked once, falling into a daze.
I am sure I caught the difference in his tone, but looking at him now, I felt wrong. Well, it could be because of my pregnancy. I have become more sensitive to my surroundings.
I need to stop suspecting everything and everyone around me. Otherwise, I may be diagnosed with a paranoid personality disorder.
Dominic frowned, maybe seeing my silence. “What happened? Did I ask anything wrong?”
I immediately shook my head. “Oh, no. Of course, not! It’s just a pregnancy thing that my mood kept swinging. Ha-ha.” I tried to wash the awkward situation away and then nodded. “Yes, Aless is the father.”
Dominic laughed suddenly as his gaze fixated on me. “I didn’t expect you to be with Andro, you know. When I saw you with him, I was utterly shocked.”
I did not laugh like him, but I smiled too. And all thanks to you, Dominic, that I met Aless in this life.
However, I chose not to express my thoughts and instead kept them to myself because I didn’t want to hurt him.
I pursed my lips. Since I saw him last night at the banquet, a question has been on my mind.
“Dominic...”
“Hmm?”
“Umm... I have heard that the fire from five years ago burned everything so badly that there seem to be no survivors. Then how did you...”
As I recalled the scenes before, my throat began to heave uncontrollably, preventing me from uttering the last word.
Even now, I feel that I owe him a debt of gratitude for how he saved me from the fire by sacrificing his own life. For years, I was in mourning, thinking I was the reason for his death, which was also part of why I could not tell Aless about us.
I still didn’t tell him that. But, slowly, I will now.
But thinking of that horrible night, I still get teared up with strange emotions.
Dominic smiled, looking down at his hand. “I was lucky a couple of farmers saved me that night.”
I am so glad that those farmers did, and he survived because...
I once again felt so guilty just by the thought.
“Then why did you ...” I wanted to ask him why he didn’t come to find me and let me know he was alive. Not because I wanted to be with him romantically, although that might have been a possibility. But because it would have saved me years of guilt and grief thinking he was dead.
If he had let me know he was alive, I wouldn’t have blamed myself, and his family wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of losing their loved one.
I felt ticklish on my cheeks as I felt both sides wet. I know I am crying, and I can’t stop it.
Dominic looked down at his hands again, playing with his fingers, “That year, I suffered burns all over my body and was able to receive treatment abroad thanks to the assistance of a wealthy billionaire. I really can’t forget the kindness he showed toward me.”
He sounded a little sad, which had me welling up in tears more.
He continued, “My situation was so critical, and doctors weren’t sure about my condition for days. I didn’t know if I would survive. So, I didn’t dare to contact my family or you.”
We only broke apart, hearing Dominic clearing his throat.
“Ahem... Well, okay... Hello, love birds?”
We broke apart as he gained our attention. I turned to face Dominic as Alessandro was already watching his brother.
His expression was blank. I couldn’t believe he was still jealous of his brother! But as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer, I realized he was. I couldn’t tell where he was taking me, as there was no space left between us from before.
I watched him from the corner of my eyes. This man is always like this! Even in our most intimate moments, he would always draw me closer, even if there was no space left!
My thoughts suddenly broke when I heard...
“Dominic? What are you doing here?” Alessandro asked.
I could sense the jealousy in his tone, or at least that’s what it seemed like to me. Most of the time, I really do love his possessiveness, but sometimes, it crosses the limit, and this is one of the times!
Dominic chuckled, gladly taking Alessandro’s seriousness lightly. He raised his hands in a surrender position, “I am here only to catch up with Victoria. I hope you won’t mind?”
I prayed to God that he does not speak idiotic things toward his brother, who had just returned. I swear, I would lose face if he did that because I proudly told Dominic that he had not behaved childishly before!
And gladly, he did as his next reply fell.
“Why not?” He smiled. “After all, you are old friends from college.”
Thankfully, he did not spill out anything but ‘friends.’ If he did, I swear, I would have kicked him out of bed for a week!
Dominic flashed a smile and then turned to Alessandro, grinning broadly.
“I thought, you are still in Paris? In a meeting?” I raised my brow as he chuckled lightly and leaned down, brushing his lips on mine, making me hungrier for him even more.
Even though I know I should stop being horny and thinking about sex whenever he is around, I just can’t. Well, as per the doctor, we can go for another month. Then why not grab the chance?
I sighed in disappointment when he moved his lips away and chuckled again, touching my nose adorably, “Who said I missed the meeting? Here I am in my meeting with my wife and the baby. Aren’t they the most important ones?”
He raised his brow, challenging me to retort, which I didn’t but warmed up a little. I felt heat rising to my cheeks. Surely, I had turned red by now.
“Well, that’s not the only thing, though,” Alessandro spoke again, gaining my interest as I looked up at him.
“What other thing?” I curiously asked as he leaned forward and brushed his nose on my cheeks again before whispering, “I have a surprise for you...”
Okay, now that’s interesting...
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Dear Ex-Wife You Are MINE (Victoria and Alessandro)